The Five Steps to Resident Home Sovereignty and an All Inclusive, Respectful, Non-Coercive Neighborhood Agreement for the Common Good

As letters are coming in and discussions among one another of EVERYONE who lives in Peachtree Village are being taken seriously, a path to our resident (both owners and lessees) home sovereignty and an all-inclusive, respectful, and non-coercive neighborhood agreement for the common good is shaping up! The consensus is very clear—the current HOA covenants have got to go, and a new, interim board of directors must replace the current Peachtree Village HOA Board!

This is a change that has long been overdue, and it might take a while to make it happen due to the likely resistance of a small number of homeowners (a percentage of which don’t even live here!) obsessed with what seems to be an addictive need to control others, the greedy financial interest of the HOA management corporation—Goodwin and Co.—whom the current board of directors hired to do their dirty work for them, and some other legal hurdles we’ll need to clear. That said, getting rid of the current HOA, their abusive practices, their constant attempts to DIVIDE US ONE AGAINST THE OTHER and to put us down, and, in their place, fostering a community of caring neighbors who look out FOR each other, is very doable, and do it we must!

So, the following is a summary of what we can do to achieve the goal of an enviable, quality community in which all residents look out for each other, lift each other up and help one another:

Step One--The Current Board of Directors Must Be Removed

Though it was clear to many of us for a very long time the Peachtree Village Board of Directors has had no interest in doing anything other than taking our money, demeaning and disrespecting our resident sovereignty over the homes WE pay everything for, constantly threatening us and, on top of that, failing to do things as simple as picking up the trash and debris from our greenbelt, all of this became very clear on March 3rd, when a couple dozen of us showed up to have our voices heard, only to be snubbed! So, it’s time for an emergency meeting among ALL residents to remove them and choose from among ourselves a new, interim board who will commit to the goal of doing away with the “covenants,” the very long list of, mostly ridiculous rules the HOA was founded on, in order to have many weapons at their disposal to keep people whom they don’t like, whom they regard as “others” out of our neighborhood!

Step Two—Revoke the Invasive and Tyrannical Covenants and Replace Them With a Simple Agreement to Encourage Voluntary Efforts to Promote Community Caring and Respect

As the small number of our fear-mongering home owners are so quick to say, “But you singed those covenant papers, so you have to obey them,” it’s not only possible for us to do away with them, but we really need to, post haste! As a very wise man once said a couple thousand years ago, “Do not swear to covenants, because the only thing that results in EVIL,” covenants are nothing more than an abusive, control method, designed to deceive the signers into obligating their FUTURE SELVES to do things they don’t want to, just to appease and financially benefit others. Fortunately, we still live in a democracy, so there is no such thing as a covenant that cannot be broken!

Think about all the other “covenants” either we or our forebears, have all have found the need to break. The Founders of the United States, in the Declaration of Independence, broke their covenant with to be loyal subjects to the King of England. The leaders of the Texas colonies broke their “covenants” with the Republic of Mexico to become an independent an independent republic. And while so many of us entered into a covenant with someone whom we probably thought we be with “’til death do we part,” only to end up in a loveless, if not an abusive marriage, found it necessary to break those covenants as well!

Right now, we the residents of Peachtree Village find ourselves in a very abusive relationship, and it is not only our right, but our duty to dissolve that relationship, beginning with the dissolution of the covenants that have proven to be relics from a segregationist past, repressive and ineffective.

Step Three—Terminate the Contract With Goodwin and Co., After Recovering Our Funds

Most of us have already been subjected to the abuses of Goodwin and Co. who are, even now, plotting to commit more! But once we have a new board who is actually working for all residents, we can and will stop them. First, we will direct them to transfer all the funds they presently hold to a checking account set up in the name of our community. We will appoint several trusted persons to have the ability to make payments from this account (such as, to pay the plumbers for the greenbelt, irrigation system to permanently cap off the water intake from the city on the other side of the meter so we no longer incur any more unnecessary, expensive and wasteful spraying DRINKABLE water on the ground, just to keep UNNATURAL grass growing, allowing native, heat and low rain resistant NATIVE plants to flourish instead). However, unlike the SECRETIVE manner in which the current HOA Board prevents anyone but themselves to KNOW where our money is going, we will ensure ALL RESIDENTS have access to the checking account statements, by posting them on the peachtreevillageplano.com website every month! In this way, with the eyes of EVERY resident owner and lessee of every home in Peachtree Village on how every penny is spent, we can make sure the funds are used wisely and only for what the residents of our community have approved of.

We’ll also need Goodwin and Co. to hand over all the information about whom they’ve intimidated into paying “fines,” so we can reimburse those funds to the resident victims. Further, Goodwin and Co., needs to do their part of cash in the money market fund which the current HOA Board has tied up a significant portion of OUR money, clearly, because they didn’t really need it, though they’ve, repeatedly, whined and cried about how what they’ve already demanded from us each month is not enough, and were they to succeed with their current plot, would raise our monthly dues even higher! Once cashed in, the money market funds also need to be deposited into the new Peachtree Village checking account for wise usage, and only in accord with our residents’ approval.

Goodwin and Co., also needs to release all the names and addresses of all Peachtree Village homeowners, both residents and lessors living somewhere else, though we have learned they have lost some of the addresses of the non-resident owners. We will, of course, want to communicate with as many of the non-resident owners, as much as possible, to INFORM them of the changes we’re making, so we can invite their SUPPORT and explain to them why the values of their properties will be ENHANCED by these changes.

While we hope the current HOA Board and Goodwin and Co. will not attempt to go around our backs to incite the non-resident homeowners with lies, distortions and any sort of propaganda as their way of dividing US and inhibiting our PROGRESS to a POSITIVE, AFFIRMING, PRO-NEIGHBORHOOD, but we must be prepared to counter any such efforts they might attempt.

Step Four—Inform and Co-Ordinate With the City of Plano, as well as Collin County for a Smooth and Responsible Transition Away From HOA Abuses

There will be a lot of details to attend to, during our positive transition to a self-governing, respectful, neighborly, non-coercive community. For example, we’ll need to make sure which part of the grounds surrounding and running through our community are the responsibility of the City of Plano to maintain, and which parts belong to us. We’ll need to draw up an official document to inform the City of Plano and Collin County to inform them of our decision to nullify the original covenants.

In time, should we decide to revoke communal control over the greenbelt so each home plot no longer cedes a portion to the greenbelt and control is reverted back to each home property, we’ll need to inform the City and County of this decision so, for example, no one runs into any problems when they want to extend their backyard fences accordingly, or get a permit to put in a pool in the re-acquired control of home property.

Step Five—Ultimately, We, the Residents, Will Need To Decide If We Want Any Sort of Community Organization Or Simply Redefine What We Want Ours to Be Like

There are many options open to us here at Peachtree Village once we throw off the abusive weight of the current HOA Board, nullify the original, outdated and abusive covenants, and replace them with a positive, neighborly, non-coercive, interim agreement. We might, for instance, after one year, decide to keep make the interim agreement permanent or we might feel like it’s no longer necessary. At the moment, based on the feedback that has been coming in, there seems to be consensus that a positive, respectful and pro-resident sovereignty agreement is the way to go.

There are so many positive things the new resident support association could do. We could, for example hold annual or semi-annual community cook outs in order to help us get to know our neighbors and increase community solidarity. (One of the biggest weaknesses the current HOA exploits is the lack of knowing our neighbors so it makes it that much easier for them to turn us once against the other.) As we get to know each other and see our neighbors more and more as “us” instead of “them,” this will automatically change the way we think and act.

Think about the way we would react toward a neighbor whose grass has grown higher than normal. When we actually know that neighbors and think of her as “one of us,” we’re much more likely to think, “I wonder if Alice is OK. Maybe she’s sick or her lawnmower broke down and, since she’s living on Social Security only, she could use a helping hand! I’m going to tap on her door and offer to mow her lawn this weekend, until she’s back on her feet.”

(But we know all too well how the divisive attitude of the current HOA works in the exact same situation! When you don’t know your neighbor, which easily leads to the “She’s not one of us,” mentality, the very same observation can devolve into, “What a slob who intentionally doesn’t take care of her lawn. I’m reporting her!” Is it any wonder why so many of our neighbors, who were going through a tough time, and didn’t get around to manicuring their lawn the way OTHERS think it should be done, will never feel the same way again after getting a NASTY LETTER, threatening them with a “fine” unless they cut their grass right away! Once so DISENFRANCHISED, are they going to be inclined to care for their front yard, especially after being made to FEEL like that front yard is NOT REALLY THEIRS after all? Not likely!!!)

There is so much we could do, together, if we want. The peachtreevillageplano.com website could, for instance, have a page where our neighbors could share tips on how to fix common problems, like the way our old, poorly-designed fences can be repaired at little to no cost! We might encourage residents to VOLUNTARILY set up vegetable gardens in the greenbelt and plant native tree saplings. We could set aside one day a month for a voluntary, greenbelt clean up day, for the low price of a couple boxes of trash bags. Similarly, we could periodically organize a day to gather up fallen branches from trees, especially after storms with high winds, and co-ordinate with the City of Plano for their removal or, maybe let everyone know they can come by, cut them into easy-to-carry bundles to use as fire wood when the cold weather is upon us (way less cheaper than buying those bundles of wood from the grocery stores or gas stations)!

Peachtree Village could very well become the ENVY of Plano, Collin County and even Texas itself! All we have to do is, once and for all, get rid of the stinking thinking that have guided our current HOA.

Not long ago, we the homeowners in Peachtree Village should have all received a letter from Goodwin & Company, Inc. which had on it's cover page the this image to the left, which begins with the stern wording "In accordance with Texas State Law..." Sure sounds very serious, doesn't it? The idea is to give the impression that all which follows is what we had better do or ELSE, get in big trouble with TEXAS STATE LAW!!!

Well, here's the problem--Goodwin and Company has NO AUTHORITY from the State of Texas! They are NOT a state law enforcement agency! All their really saying is that, everything in the following pages is NOT a violation of Texas State Law...of course, that doesn't include using words that, unless read very carefully, make it APPEAR FALSELY as if G&C do have POLICE AUTHORITY when they do not!!!

On the next page of what is typed out using the same format was would be used in a criminal court filing (which is no accident), we read the very INTIMIDATING WORDS, "Enforcement and Fining Policy for Peachtree Village Homeowners Association." Once again, when you see words like "enforcement," what does that make you think? How about LAW ENFORCEMENT! But is all that follows a list of Texas State laws? NO! Are they a list of Local state or county laws? NO! Are they even LAWS, as in, the sort of rules that, if you break them, you could end up in front of a judge to be fined or sent to jail? NO! NO! NO!

What you see in the following pages are what the Home Owners Association claims to be their rules, and if not followed, you may be in (what for it) a "violation"!!!

Yeah, "violation," which has that "break the (real) Law (Federal, State, local city or county) sound to it. However, these "violations" are just what someone thinks is wrong, as in, "violating" a fashion trend! Of course, they follow this up with what sort of "fines" you'll get if you don't do what you're told, with what is supposed to be YOUR house and YOUR property!

So, when you get to page 4, you can see a list of all the "fines" you could be subjected to, up to $500.00!!! Very scary, right, especially considering that most every homeowner in Peachtree Village are not carrying $50 to $500 in their wallets or purses! And true to form, the LANGUAGE used is specifically designed to make it seem like Goodwin and Company are some sort of house decoration police that can give you a ticket, just like a cop does when he pulls you over for speeding, with the message, "You better do what your told, or you too will have to come up with this money!"

But is this right? Can the HOA really drag you in front of a judge, maybe put you in jail or garnish your wages unless you pay? NO!

Please look at the sentence highlighted in yellow. If you don't OBEY the HOA management company, and if you don't pay the "fines" they issue, what can the HOA actually do? Well, they can submit a "Notice of Fine" to the County Clerk's office and have it recorded...after first hiring a lawyer to draw up the document and paying $25 for the first page and $4 for every subsequent page and, then, sure, it gets put in an electronic (now a days) folder...where it will sit for, well, maybe a long time...BUT THAT'S IT!!!

Of course, the HOA could, as could anyone, file a civil lawsuit against you, and hope to convince a judge that you owe them x amount of money in what they call "fines," that is, IF they want to hire an attorney to take you to court. But just so you know ANYONE can do the same to ANYONE else in this country for just about ANY complaint ANYONE may have...but it doesn't mean a civil judge will rule in their favor and, by the way, when we're talking about fines in the $100s of dollars, anyone attempting such lawsuit will have to expend $1000s, if not $10 of 1000s just in legal fees alone!

So, the first thing we, as sovereign home and property owners need to realize that these BARKS are a LOT louder than Goodwin and Company's BITE!

How Goodwin and Co. Misrepresents and LIES About Its Supposed Authority

Don't Believe THE LIE--"We have to take away home owner sovereignty or else your property values will go down."

How many times have you heard either from a neighborhood busybody or some representative from a greedy, for-profit HOA management company who think THEY have the right to TELL YOU how to manage or decorate or modify YOUR HOME, that you had better surrender your homeowner rights to them or else your home's property value will sink like a lead balloon? But this is nothing but a big, obese LIE!

For one thing, property values, especially here in East Plano, Texas, have been steadily and dramatically RISING, and it's not because of any draconian punishments threatened or executed by any HOA management company! After all, just look on the west side of Peachtree Lane where homeowners have no HOA violating their homeowner sovereignty, and guess what, their home values are just as high, if not more so, per square footage, than any of ours! There are many reasons why our home and property values are going up (which may sound good until you get your annual, local property tax bill), such as, the collusion between the Real Estate industrial complex and county property appraisers so they can make ever-increasing profits when selling a home, even though the average homeowner income had remained flat for decades! But it's absolutely ludicrous to claim that HOA management abuses have anything to do with increasing home values!

Another false claim has to do with the notion that we need HOA management companies to harass and threaten and intimidate into paying "fines" or else nothing can be done about a neighbor who is really and truly neglecting to care for their property so much that it effects the health, safety or well-being of other homeowners living nearby. In reality, the City of Plano has ordinances which already prohibit any homeowner from doing or neglecting to do things with their property that would actually rise to the level of causing health, safety or well-being problems to others. In this case, all one need do is make a call to the City of Plano Neighborhood Services if there is a real problem. So, since there is already in place a way to address any real concerns that a neighbor might be so grossly neglecting their property, like having a tree that is about to fall onto an electrical line, it can be addressed by the City, which begs the question--"Then what do we need an HOA management company for?" How about, "We don't!"

Moreover, another part of the Big Lie stems from what these HOA management companies have learned how to say, without coming right out and stating, clearly, what they mean--"Unless you surrender control of your home to us, those 'other' people will take over your neighborhood," i.e., people who don't look like you, who have a different skin color, have a different culture, a different race, a different religion, different priorities, different tastes, or any other difference you can think of!

It's very critical to know the HOA Movement was RACIST from the get go! After Segregationists began to lose ground to one court ruling after another, and they could no longer keep minorities out of the same schools, using the same bathrooms, living in the same neighborhoods, they came up with an alternative strategy--HOAs, which would create so many rule about how a house "should" look and "should" be kept, they could easily harass anyone who managed to buy a home in "their" neighborhood, they could pressure them into leaving! However, in so doing, they have simply created a problem that wasn't there before, by empowering people who do absolutely nothing to pay your mortgage, your utilities, and all the other expenses required to maintain your home and fix it up the way YOU want to, to have so much control over your property, it becomes, for all practical purposes THEIR HOME!

What is "ownership" at the end of the day, if it is not the ability for YOU to have CONTROL over the one place where you can have some refuge, the place you sleep, the place you eat, the place you play...the place you LIVE or where you SHOULD be able to LIVE as YOU please!

Contact Us Today

Reach out to us for support in protecting your homeowner/lessee rights and enhancing your individual freedoms to manage YOUR HOME. If, for example, you receive threatening letters from Goodwin and Company or if you see any or their employees spying on you, taking photos of your home and writing down their highly subjective judgments, please let us know right away. If possible, get photos of these meddling employees and forward copies of any threatening letters demanding you pay "fines" or "fees," such as, demands that YOU pay for LETTERS THEY SEND, regardless of whether you received them or not (an unethical and ILLEGAL practice called "Fee Stacking").

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